Principles of Official Commemoration

Equality and uniformity are the governing principles behind the official commemoration of Australia’s war and post-war dead.

These principles, together with the principle of commemoration in perpetuity, underpin the purpose and functions of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and the Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) 1. In practical terms the principles mean:

each of our war dead and post-war dead is commemorated individually and once only, by name, on either a grave headstone, or a plaque, or an inscription on a memorial

the headstones, plaques and memorials are maintained in perpetuity

the headstones, plaques, and memorial inscriptions are uniform

there is no distinction in style of commemoration made on the basis of military rank, civil rank or wealth of the veteran or his family.

The distinctive, orderly rows of matching headstones and plaques that characterise the CWGC cemeteries in 150 countries around the world are the principles of equality, uniformity made real and commemoration in perpetuity.

Every headstone or plaque is inscribed (where known) with the person's:

Post-war commemorations

The principles of equality and uniformity are maintained with post-war commemorations. At the choice of the next-of-kin, these commemorations may be either at the site of the veteran's remains in cemeteries or crematoria throughout Australia or in an OAWG Garden of Remembrance. If a cemetery or crematorium's requirements preclude the use of an official commemoration, a memorial plaque in an OAWG Garden of Remembrance is the recommended option.

Footnotes

The British Government began marking individual graves of the British and Empire war dead in WW1 following the growing expectation, led by the Red Cross, that the war dead should be recognised individually, officially and permanently by the nation. The Australian Government also adopted this policy and in 1922 extended the entitlement of official commemoration to include those who subsequently died post war of war-related causes. All subsequent Australian governments have endorsed this policy.